All told, 17 local wrestlers punched their tickets to the state tournament, which begins on Friday in Salem at the Salem Civic Center. Wilson qualified six grapplers, Riverheads and Robert E. Lee four each and Buffalo Gap three.

Six wrestlers made it to the championship round, while the other 11 wrestled in the consolations.

Both of Riverheads' wrestlers in title matches captured gold.

At 152 pounds, Wade earned his fourth trip to the state, decisioning Buffalo Gap's Ian Robbie 12-5 with eight of his points coming on takedowns.

It was the fourth time this year that Wade has defeated Robbie.

"I feel a lot better than last year," Wade said. "It was good to win it."

Wade upped his record to 35-2, while Robbie fell to 33-8.

For Robbie, it will be his third trip to the state.

"There, it will depend on the mentality I have on the mat," he said. "I have the skills."

Smiley defeated Wilson's Zac Denton (17-11) for the title at 160 by an 8-1 score, with six points coming on takedowns.

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Austin Smiley(Photo: Ken Bosserman/The News Leader)

"Zac always gives me a good match," Smiley (23-2) said. "I'm happy to have won today. This will be my third time to the state."

"This is better than being an alternate like last year," Fox said. "This is the first time I've qualified."

Also placing second was Wilson's Brooks Holmes (17-8). He lost 3-1 to Maggie Walker's Chris Soldan at 170 pounds on a takedown and an escape in a highly competitive match.

"I'm very pleased with our showing today," Wilson coach Chris Robinson said. "The kids worked hard and I am proud of them. They all did a good job."

Riverheads coach Scott Swats also liked what he saw.

"The competition was tough," he said. "We are taking two less than what I wanted. The draws on the bracket were not to our favor. But I am happy with it."

Teamwise, Clarke County won the tourney with 226 points. Strasburg was second with 225 and Wilson third with 141. Riverheads was fifth at 115 and Lee sixth at 106. Buffalo Gap was ninth with 87.

The Hornets also picked up a trio of third places and a fourth.

At 120, Sam Garst (37-5) earned a third place when he got a takedown in overtime for a 5-3 decision over King William's Shane Shannon. Garst got an escape and penalty point for stalling late in the third period to earn a tie and force overtime.

The Wilson senior almost didn't make the state qualifying round. In the consolation semifinal, it was his takedown of Riverheads' Garret Shultz with 15 seconds left in the match which produced a 3-1 win.

Then at 132, Eric Calvert (27-5) received a forfeit win over Buffalo Gap's Cole Conley (36-6)

At 171 pounds, Cole Smiley (29-11) controlled Clarke County's Matt Cleary for an 8-1 decision for the third place medal, while at 113, Brandon Batten (20-10) was pinned in 14 seconds by Efren Ruiz of Nandua. Batten, a sophomore, finished fourth.

For Lee, Kyler Pulliam (30-4) took third in the heavyweight, pinning Clarke County's Jacob Buckman in 39 seconds.